Yesterday, former St. Louis city prosecutor Bliss Worrell pleaded guilty to one count of “Misprision of a Felony” in federal court – admitting she filed charges she knew were false against a St. Louis man, and then worked to cover up the truth.
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During her tenure as a prosecutor at the circuit attorney’s office, Worrell developed a close friendship with a “veteran officer” – who is not named in the plea – who assaulted a suspect on the night of his arrest on July 22, 2014, according to the plea. Carroll told Worrell that Waller was arrested in possession of his daughter’s credit card.
Worrell discussed the assault July 23, 2014, with colleagues during a conference call with the detective – who told the prosecutors that he had thrown the handcuffed Waller against a wall, beat him, threw a chair at him and shoved a pistol down the suspect’s throat.
The charge carries a possible penalty of up to three years in prison, although prosecutors and Worrell’s attorney agreed to recommend a year and a half on probation. The suspect, Michael Waller, had apparently been collared with a stolen credit card belonging to the officer’s daughter. She also noted that none of Worrell’s colleagues who were aware of the incident remain employed by the circuit attorney’s office.
Worrell was asked to resign days after the assault, which she did.
Worrell told prosecutors Carroll said other police officers aided in the assault on Waller and he possibly chipped Waller’s tooth while shoving his service pistol into his mouth. Waller called his brother from jail and left a message saying he had been beaten, and that Internal Affairs was investigating. Worrell concealed this information from her supervisors, allowing the charge to stand.
Her plea says the explanation of Waller’s injuries in the final police report differs from a draft as well as from both what the veteran officer told her and what the arresting officer said. Worrell, the plea agreement says, “took that to mean this was the first time the arresting officer had to lie and cover up for a fellow officer”.
Carroll, a 25-year veteran, resigned about two months later, and all charges against Waller were eventually dropped.
Worrell now faces felony misprision charges. Part of her job was to determine if there was probable cause in a case based on evidence provided by law enforcement and witnesses. She also confessed to filing a phony charge against the suspect after his beating, notes the news outlet.
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The Justice Department says Worrell – the daughter-in-law of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Todd Worrell – has agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
